Mirrored (Reverse Gravity Falls, Reverse Pines)
by Restless Reflection
Summary: Mabel and Dipper find a mysterious mirror in their attic and are sucked into the sleepy town of Reverse Falls. Life goes back to its normal mystery solving-until something goes wrong, and the true nightmare begins!
1. Dream-t(r)icked

Something growled in the darkness. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled outside the attic window.

"Dipper? Can I sleep with you tonight?" Mabel whispered from her bed. "There's this weird growling sound!" She waited for a response. There was none.

"Dipper...?"

She tentatively tiptoed over to his side of the room. The blanket was pulled aside to reveal he wasn't there. Lightning flashed again like the way it does in horror movies; Mabel bit her lip and turned around. The bedroom door was slightly ajar, and mumbling floated from downstairs. She was able to recognize Stan's gravelly voice. Was Dipper talking to Grunkle Stan in a _man-to-man talk?!_

Mabel giggled. Dipper wasn't exactly Manny Mannington, so what the hey-hey was he doing down there?

"Why you ackin' so cray-cray, Dipper?" she whispered to herself and giggled again. _Secret Agent Mabel, activate!_ she thought and tried to put on a serious face. Of course, she didn't know how silly she looked. _Ok, so what did Dipper say about unknown situations? Oh yeah:_ 'remain cautious and alert. Stay serious and fo-Oh, hey! Wendy!' She giggled again from the memory. Lightning flashed again and Mabel jumped.

"Okay. Be serious, Mabel. _Seri_ous," she crept up to the door and opened it carefully. Instantly, her eyes darted to something new in the attic: a beautiful mirror. The room was violently lit up for a split second and the thunder roared louder this time, but Mabel didn't jump or even flinch.

"Ooh, shiny shiny..." she said when the mirror started to glow softly in a blue-green aura. As she got closer, the light sparkled more and more intensely. The mirror itself was steel grey; elegant swirls gracefully curled up and down. Bands of radiant turquoise wrapped-

_Stay focused, Mabel! _Dipper's voice warned in her head.

"But it's so razzly-dazzly," Mabel said to no one in particular.

_Mabel!_

Mabel shook her head to clear the weird fuzzy feeling. "Fine, fine," she grumbled and turned around.

**_"CRASH!"_**

The sound of glass shattering made her turn back to the source. The mirror was on its side now, and its reflective surface had cracks on it. Moonlight played dancing shadows around it.

Mabel tensed, the creepiness starting to get to her now. "Huh... Must've slipped..." she assured herself.

_Maybe I should go back to bed... Hey, wait, what's that?_

A perfectly-shaped triangle chunk of mirror lay next to it; the back of it was a really bright yellow, maybe from old glue. She picked up the piece and examined it. Then she looked at the mirror, which was no longer glowing. Disappointment and curiosity grew as she continued to stare back and forth between the shard and mirror. "Just wanna put it back together..."

She slowly turned it over and around so it was in the right position.

_Mabel, don't!_

But, as if in some kind of trance, Mabel ignored her brother's warning and placed the shard where it belonged. Suddenly, the mirror started to shake and beams of light shot out throughout the cracks. "Uh..." Mabel stepped back and turned to run down the stairs, but it was already too late.

"AHHHH!"

And in a blaze of blinding turquoise light, Mabel was gone.

* * *

><p>"MABEL!" Dipper yelled and sat up in his bed. He looked around; morning light streamed from the window and the bedroom door was fully closed. A sigh escaped him and Dipper tried to calm himself. "It was only a dream... A dream that I so vividly remember...?" he wondered aloud, unconvinced.<p>

He lay back on his bed. "But the door in my dream was open, and the real one is closed right now... So the dream isn't real." He turned his head to Mabel's bed. Even though he couldn't see her head, he could still see the lumps in the blanket.

"Mabel, I just had this crazy dream where you disappeared because of some weird mirror. Crazy, right?" he said. There was no response.

"Mabel?" He stepped out of his bed and walked over to Mabel's.

He snatched the blanket away, and underneath were a pile of strategically placed stuffed animals!

_The dream was real!_

"Mabel, where are you?!" Tears started building up. He wasn't there to protect her! Now she's gone, and what will happen now?! The flash of turquoise light and the scream kept on replaying in his head. "O-okay, Dipper, calm down. There must be some r-rational explanation and a way to save her. Yelling won't help Mabel," he said in attempt to calm himself. "Okay, think back to the dream and find something useful..." He relayed the dream again, despite how he hated hearing Mabel cry out over and over again.

He hesitated from screaming his head off: turquoise light. Gideon.

"_That little __twerp!"_ Anger replaced his fear in an instant_. That little b-_

Footsteps pounded up the stairs.

His heart skipped a beat-Stan never came up to wake them! Dipper grabbed the Journal and vest and opened the window latch. He was about to step out until he realized-

"_Sweet Moses, _kid! What are you _doing_?!" Grunkle Stan yelled. Dipper wiped a tear away and turned around. He breathed a sigh of relief and jumped off the nightstand.

"Grunkle Stan, Mabel's been captured by this magic mirror and-"

"Kid, she's eating breakfast downstairs."

A blush crept up Dipper' s face, and he studied the ground. "Oh, uh... Thanks."

"Don't take it personally, Dipper. All that conspiracy stuff is getting to you and filling your head with all that nonsense," Dipper rolled his eyes and crossed his arms."-blah blah blah, Gideon _i_s a maniac, but he's also a sham like blah blah blah..." Dipper waited until the speech was finally finished.

"Gunkle Stan, it's all real! Gnomes, secret codes-"

"Gravity Falls is just another regular town, Dipper," Grunkle Stan said, his voice straining against his anger. "End of conversation! Now go get dressed and make yourself some breakfast."

"But-"

"I said end. Of. _Conversation!_" He looked away and slammed the door shut. Dipper rolled his eyes.

"Yeesh, what's that guy's problem? He's even more grumpy than usual." He stared at the door for a second, but eventually put on his hat and vest and hid the Journal within one of its pockets. At the door handle, Dipper hesitated. The dream still gave him the creeps, even though Mabel was fine and eating downstairs.

After he opened the door, his suspicions were confirmed. The mirror was still there.

If the mirror is real, what does mean of Mabel? And how come Grunkle Stan didn't notice it? Did only appear to him? Could it really cause people to disappear? Dipper walked in front of the mirror, but kept his distance. It wasn't even a real mirror; there was no reflection in its silvery surface. He took out the Journal.

"I have to make my own breakfast, anyways," Dipper grumbled and turned to the page about cursed objects. Nothing. Instead, he flipped through the contents of the book. Still nothing. "That's so weird the Journal has nothing about the mirror..." He looked up. The Journal floated with no arms or Dipper to hold it.

"AH!" Dipper jumped and juggled around the Journal until he was able to calm himself. His mind flashed back to Dusk 2 Dawn for a second, before Dipper stopped the image in his mind. He glanced at the mirror again, but it didn't show Skeleton Dipper; his body was actually starting to form in the reflection.

"Woah..." Entranced, Dipper watched the last of his fingers to form in the reflection. The reflection looked pretty much normal, except for the silverish tint and his hat. For some reason, the pine tree symbol was just a smudge of blue. He took a step closer, but carefully avoided making contact with the mirror. His vest was slowly shifting from navy blue to turquoise.

And, even on even closer inspection, he saw his hair combed back to show his birth mark.

_Wait a minute, I should be writing this down!_ Quickly, he stepped back, but just the pen touched the paper, he heard Grunkle Stan.

"Dipper! Get yer butt down here-tourists'll be here in an hour!" Grunkle Stan yelled from below, but Dipper rolled his eyes and started note taking.

_ Cursed/Haunted Mirror_

_It was in my dream with Mabel in it, but so far, there hasn't been any actual suspicious __behavior __involving it. May have the ability to cause people to disappear with bright light and enters __one's __dreams. It seems to "generate" your reflection over time. Alters it too. Proceed with caution. _**_Do not touch._**

Something tugged on the Journal.

"Huh?" Dipper lifted his head and turned around, oblivious to the skinny black arm that snaked out of the mirror and tightened its grip on the monocle. Dipper turned around, and that's when he noticed the arm. He lifted the book up and stared at it, but didn't dare touch it. "What the..." He took a step back, but the arm only stretched even more. And more. Suddenly, the arm retracted so fast that Dipper barely had time to let go and watch the Journal and the arm disappear into the mirror with a puff of turquoise glitter.

"Uh..." His eyes widened. He was about to take a step back when the arm reappeared again. He froze.

_It's looking for _**_me_**. A chill crept up Dipper's spine.

The arm began to grope around and grasp at the air frantically. It was one of the weirdest and creepiest things Dipper has ever saw, and that's saying a lot. Quickly, he looked around so he could formulate a plan. The stairs was only a few paces to the right. Slowly, he took a step back and waited for the arm's reaction. It kept searching, and he flinched as the arm swiped well above his head. He took another step back and waited.

No reaction.

And another. Still no reaction. Finally, he was right next to the first step. Even though he would still have to slowly go down the stairs, it felt like an achievement. He swelled with relief. _Okay, just go down this one, Dipper, and you'll be half way to being home free._He lightly placed a foot on the step.

_**"CREAK..."**_

The arm instantly snapped to attention and grabbed Dipper by the shirt collar before he was able to sprint to freedom. He struggled to escape and attempted to slip out, but it somehow didn't work.

"GRUNKLE STAN! ...MABEL! ...SOMEONE!" he struggled to yell; his mouth was falling asleep. He punched and kicked, but resistance was useless. Darkness ate at the edges of his vision as his attacks grew weaker.

_But I can't... Give up..._

"AHH! HELP! Me... Helpp... Mfmfmf..." Suddenly, the world went dark.

Dipper's eyes closed and his body went limp. There was a moment of silence and nothing as the arm paused. Seeming satisfied, it slowly crept back to where it came from. A small web of cracks sliced through the mirror just as the boy was pulled in.

* * *

><p>[AN]

Don't worry, guys! He's still alive... I think. *Dodges a tomato*

HEY!

Anyways, I would like to say thanks for reading this fanfiction.

Also, comment on what you think, what I should improve, stuff like that.

~~Dubtle

O

0=1


	2. ROUND HOUSE KICK!

Mabel gasped and opened her eyes. She was staring up at the wooden ceiling beams and something was digging into her upper back.

"Ow ow ow..." she said while sitting up and picking out splinters from her hand. She looked around the room, _her and Dipper' s room,_ and realized that she was where her bed should be. Mabel stuck out her tongue and raspberried at all the newly discovered wooden planks. _I guess that means another sleepover with Dippy!_

"Mabel, is that you?" someone's muffled voice moaned. It sounded a lot like Dipper. Mabel walked over to bis bed and poked whatever was under the blankets.

"Poke. Hey Dipper, what'd Grunkle Stan do to my bed?" She pulled away the covers, and Dipper stared back at her. His arm was clutched over his stomach, his face was a little green, and his hat was really messed up. It looked like a cat scratched up the little pine tree. "Hey, bro, you okay? Were you sleeping outside again?" she asked skeptically.

Dipper moaned again. "I'm gonna puke..." Mabel looked away until she was sure he was done. He lay back, his face more relaxed. Suddenly he brightened. "Hey, Mabel, you're okay!"

"Um, why wouldn't I be? I mean, like, we don't really share drinks _that_ often. Poke."

Dipper blinked and frowned. "Uh... Mm-mm-mm. And I don't know what happened to your bed. Maybe Stan used it for some kind of cheap attraction? Last time I saw him he was grumpier than usual, so I'm guessing he was guilty or something." After he got up, he stared at the bed for a few second with a frown, but he shrugged and looked back at her. "C'mon, let's go get breakfast." He turned around, but Mabel placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Something else wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Dipper replied, but Mabel could tell from the look in his eyes there was.

She grinned. "C'mon, tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell-"

"I told you, nothing's wrong," he said defensively and shrugged her hand off. A pang of confusion and hurt pricked her, but she followed him anyways. Since when does _he _keep secrets from _her?_"I wonder if he made Stan Cakes again."

"Hope not," Mabel said as Dipper opened the door. Behind it was a surprisingly familiar face. "GIDEON!"

"What do _you_ want?" Dipper said and looked like he was ready to punch.

Gideon frowned. "Uh, who-"

Mabel held her arms up. "ROUND HOUSE _KICK!_"

"What-_WOAH!" _Gideon ducked and fell, either from the kick or as a dodge, and Mabel high-fived her twin.

"Woah, Mabel, where did you learn to do _tha_t?" Dipper asked while she watched Gideon scoot away.

"I've been looking into ways to protect myself from Gideon," she bragged.

Gideon finally got up and was slowly stepping away. "WHO THE HECK ARE YOU TWO?!" Suddenly he froze and his eyes widened. "Oh no, you can't be..."

_YES WE ARE! WE ARE THE AMAZING MYSTERY TWINS!_

"I-I'm innocent-it wasn't me who wrote it! I just-" He took a step back and reached into his vest. A book fell to the floor with a loud _thud._

"Gideon, is everything all right up there?" Grunkle Stan said from down below. _Grunkle Stan? Grunkle Stan?! _Mabel finally had a good look at Gideon' s clothes: blue vest, baby blue hat, orange shirt... Her head spun. The missing bed, Gideon, Grunkle Stan...

"Is that... Journal Number Three?" Dipper said, and Mabel looked at the maroon book. It was Journal Three!

"What, wait, how, who... _What?"_ Mabel stammered.

"Yeah, it is-here, take it and finally leave me _alone!" _Gideon yelled, his face turning bright pink. Mabel could see his eyes were getting teary.

"Where _are _we?" Dipper said. He muttered, "This can't be Gravity Falls... Something's up."

"Reverse Falls...?" Gideon said. Suddenly, his face reddened and he balled up his fists. "Wait a minute, you're not Them! Give me that-" He snatched the Journal away from Dipper' s hands. "You better have an explanation for why you're here, in my room, lookin' like clones of me an' Pacifica-"

"Paci-" Mabel started, but was cut off.

"-why you tried killing me, how you got here, and just _how_ _you know!" _Gideon was breathing hard now, and his face was full blown red. As in red-red red.

Suddenly Mabel remembered.

"The mirror!"

Gideon's rage was now directed at her. "The _what?"_

Dipper gasped too and stepped back.

"Oh my gosh, Mabel, quest be in some kind of alternate universe! Reverse Falls is the _reverse _of Gravity Falls. The mirror must've been some kind of interdimensional portal that mirrored everyone; everything's equal yet opposite! That must mean the multiverse theory _is_ true! Parallel universes-"

"Bro, you lost me."

"Basically we're in the opposite of Gravity Falls."

"Oh."

Stunned, Gideon looked at the twins in astonishment. His face went from epic-explosion red to cutie-patootie pink. "Wait, you two know about the weird occurrences that happen 'round here, too?"

"Well in Gravity Falls, yeah, but I bet some things _some _things are still the same," Dipper said and stuck out his hand. "I'm Dipper and this is my sister-"

"-_Alpha sister!_" Mabel interjected.

Dipper blushed. "-Mabel Pines. My 'alpha' sis likes to eat toothpaste."

"It's _sparkly!" _Mabel said with a huge grin and jazz hands.

Gideon frowned. "Pines? So we're, um, related?" He gave them a weird look.

Mabel tried not to gag as Dipper's hand dropped to his side.

"Uh... Let's avoid that topic for now..." he said uncomfortably.

There was a few moments where no one said anything and everyone was thinking the same thing. _I'm related to him?!_ Mabel thought.

Dipper cleared his throat and pulled out his Journal. "Hey, wanna check out my Journal?" he said, breaking the awkward silence.

"You have one too? Do you think it has the same things as mine?"

"Maybe. Oh, and you wanna know how I found it? Well, this guy Norman..." They both walked away talking about gnomes, secret codes, and other dorky stuff.

Mabel watched them go. "I wonder where Grenda and Candy are..." she said, suddenly feeling alone.

* * *

><p>In between the time period of lunch and dinner, Dipper tossed his cookies a bazillion times. And, coincidently, it was usually when Stan was asking <em>him<em> the questions.

Mabel, on the other hand, walked around the house, wondered where Waddles was, and frequently answered Gideon's Stan's questions.

"So you're friends with Gids'?" Grunkle Stan asked her and Dipper when they saw him watching t.v. She sat down to watch with him. Dipper walked away with Gideon, leaving her to answer all of the questions. So many questions.

"Yeah."

"Didn't he tell you about all the crazy conspiracies?"

"Yeah."

"Yet you don't think he's some yahoo?"

"Yeah."

"Are you and Dipper twins?" he asked for the millionth time.

"_Yes." _Mabel sighed.

"You new here?"

"_Yes."_

At least at dinner, Dipper was the one being interrogated.

Grunkle Stan avoided eating his food and kept on glancing between Gideon and Dipper.

"You two doing cosplay or whatever? Dress up?"

Dipper' s face suddenly turned green. "Gotta go... Mf..." He ran off and somehow got away with the lame excuse. Grunkle Stan looked at Mabel again.

"You two twins?"

Mabel groaned. She really needed to find Waddles, Soos, or someone else sane.


	3. Enter the Mind of Gideon

In a blink of an eye, he was surrounded, the cliff behind him and everyone else on the other three sides. A huge crack rumbled through the ground in front of him, but to which doom should he jump to? Before he was able to make his choice, a piercing yell interrupted his thoughts.

"GIDEON!" Mabel screamed through his dream, shattering the illusion. Gideon's eyes flew open and his forehead was dotted with cold sweat. His eyes darted to Mabel, who was shaking him gently and saying something about pancakes, Grunkle Stan, and taste.

"Yay, you're finally awake!" Mabel said and stopped shaking him. Gideon sighed and felt his forehead as fragments of the nightmare slipped out of his mind. Something about the Journal and running away in a shadowy place...

He finally got his bearings together. "Mabel," he said and glared at her, "you didn't have to scream."

She frowned. "What? No I didn't. Besides, it's almost noon an' you still haven't woken up yet. Also, you should get some of the awesome pancakes before Dipper eats 'em all, Mr. Grumpy Face! Now turn that frown upside down!" She tugged on his arm, but Gideon didn't budge.

After a few moments, he sighed and let himself get pulled up only to a sitting position. "Dipper's already awake?" He and Dipper were up all night talking about their own dimension, comparing Journals, and sharing adventures.

Mabel stopped pulling on his arm for just a moment. "Yeah, and you still need to show us 'round town. I can't wait to see what Candy and Grenda are like!" she squealed and continued to tug on Gideon's arm until he finally let himself get pulled up. She skipped out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Gideon changed out of his pajamas and put on a different outfit from yesterday: dark grey and baby blue hoodie, white shirt, and grey shorts. He slipped the Journal in one of the sweater's secret pockets, next to the picture of him and Pacifica. _I wonder how she'll will react when she meets them, especially Mabel._ He could imagine a whole lot of girly squealing and nights sleeping outside. With a sigh, he put on his hat and watch on the way out.

_Did they really just appear out of no where because of some mirror they found?_ he pondered while walking down the stairs. _What if their alibi isn't true? If it is then does that mean the mirror could-_

"Dude, are you gonna move?" He looked up and saw some guy of undeterminable age staring at him. The guy was holding a lightbulb.

"Who are you?" Gideon asked and frowned; he'd never seen this man (child?) before, but he looked remarkably like Duece.

"Soos. Your Grunkle just hired me as a handyman, dude," the man replied and twirled a wrench around his finger.

"But we already have a handyman."

"I dunno, dude. Mr. Pines hired me anyways."

"Oh," Gideon let him pass and walked into the kitchen. There was a plate with just two pancakes. After he was finished eating them, he walked into the living room. The twins were watching television. "Hey, do you two have a Soos in your dimension, too?"

Mabel nodded. "Can we go now?" she asked eagerly.

"If Gravity Falls is almost the same as Reverse Falls, why do you need me to show you two around?" The truth was that he would rather go straight to Pacifica's house. But a deal's a deal, and he knew that deals could become serious to certain... _Beings._

Gideon blinked and snapped out of his thoughts, suddenly remembering that Mabel was talking.

"-worried we'll get lost 'cause he isn't sure if the town is the same. And 'cause he needs to know every. Single. Thing," she said and shrugged. "Right, Dipper?" She poked him repetitively on the cheek. "_Right_ Dipper?"

"Mm," Dipper mumbled, engrossed in whatever they were watching.

"Last night you said that only the people are different in your Gravity Falls," Gideon said to Dipper.

Dipper finally looked at Gideon. "At where?" he asked distantly; his eyes flicked back and forth from the television and Gideon. "Oh um... Just need extra notes..."

"Eh, never mind. C'mon, I'll show you two around now. Oh, and you can have another hat, Dipper. Just make sure Grunkle Stan doesn't notice.

"'Kay," both twins said at the same time. They jumped up and followed Gideon through the gift shop door. While Mabel went with Dipper to the shelf with the hats, Gideon went to the bookcase that was right next to the gift shop door. He got out a small baby blue novel and slipped it behind the Journal. When he turned around he saw Dipper adjusting his new hat, muttering "I guess light blue is just the same as regular blue..."

"Hey, what's that?" Mabel asked and and pointed to the left side of Gideon' s jacket, which was barely bulging in a rectangular shape.

"Oh, it's a book that I borrowed from Pacifica," he replied. He took out the book and switched it to his right side.

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Pacifica actually _reads?_ As in, not just some junk about makeup and mascara?"

Gideon glared at him. "Don't be so shallow. The Pacifia here's _way_ different than your Pacifica," he said defensively.

* * *

><p>"I promise to show you two the less boring stuff in town, 'kay?" Gideon said while passing by the entrance to the cemetery.<p>

"Hey, wait, Gideon. Wanna see something awesome that Mabel and I found?" Dipper said and looked meaningfully at Mabel. "It's gonna blow your mind about the town founder."

"Ok..." Gideon said uneasily and shifter his weight to one foot. _Trust no one!_

"C'mon and follow us then!" Mabel said with glee and followed her brother into the cemetery. _Ok, as if this isn't creepy at all... _Gideon thought, but followed the two anyways.

They came up to a grave with no tombstone. Instead, there was a statue of a handsome-ish angel holding a book and pointing to the left. Gideon looked at the direction he was pointing, but he didn't see anything abnormal.

"Ever heard of Quentin Trembly the Third, dear sir?" Dipper said, his voice suddenly taking on a grandeur tone and sounding slightly familiar. It sent odd shivers up Gideon's back.

"No..." Gideon said and stepped back a little.

"Take it away, Mabel!" Dipper said with a grand flourish of his arms. Mabel, seeming a little confused about Dipper's sudden dramatic flair as well, simply hung her nose on the angel' s finger.

"Boop! Agh, she's-I mean he's-picking my nose!" Mabel said, and Gideon could tell that she was trying to add a little flair as well. "Oh no... Agh..."

"And now, with-"

Gideon crossed his arms over his chest. "So basically the angel's picking her nose," he said and heard Mabel giggle. Goosebumps sprung in his arms as he watched Dipper blink rapidly. "Ok-so what's supposed to happen now?"

"Um," Dipper said and scratched his head, "actually, a secret entrance is supposed to open up, but..." His arms dropped to his sides and he studied the stone slab beneath the angel. "And it's supposed to reveal the secret resting place of the eighth and a half president and some other secret government secrets, like-"

Mabel released herself and stood next to her brother. Now something really looked familiar. "Like, did you know that Benjamin Franklin secretly was a girl?" she said and put her hands on Gideon' s shoulders. She started shaking him. "Hello? Hello, Gideon in there? Can we please find Candy and Grenda now? Please?!"

"Okay, okay!" he said and pried her hands off, even though he didn't know who the two were. "Sheesh, you don't have to shake me every time you don't get what you want!"

Mabel looked a little taken back and guilt instantly flooded Gideon. "Oh, ok..." He was about to say something when he heard Dipper moan and saw him turn away from them. After a few moments he looked back at Dipper, who had Mabel's arm looped around his shoulder.

"Are you-" Gideon said.

Dipper clutched his stomach and looked up. "Yeah, I'm done."

"Maybe we should go to the diner? Grunkle Stan told me ginger ale helps relieve stomach aches..."

"Yeah, let's go..." Dipper joined them, one arm still around his stomach and the other around Mabel's shoulder. He was slightly leaning on her as they walked to the diner.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad, right?" Mabel said and searched his face. "Right? On a scale from one to ten, one being it doesn't really hurt and ten being OH MY GOSH MY STOMACH' S GONNA EXPLODE-"

"Shut up, Mabel. You're making it worse."

Mabel smiled sheepishly. "Ok, sorry... But how much?"

"Ten."

* * *

><p>The diner was busy, which was a little unusual since it was after the lunch rush. They didn't have enough time to ask anyone why because Gideon glanced at his watch and quickly bought a bottle of ginger ale with the spare change in his pocket. They were about to bustle out the door when he heard someone testing out an electric guitar. Gideon slowed down to notice the whispers.<p>

"-didn't you hear-"

"-rocks on the keyboard-"

"-the tombstones-"

"What-WENDY?" Dipper said. Gideon followed his gaze to the small stage in the diner. Standing there was a tall girl with red hair, a dark grey hoodie, ripped skinny jeans, and a black electric guitar. Two other people were behind her. One of them had a purple highlight and was looking over a paper in her hand. The girl on the guitar began playing some notes.

"Woah..." Dipper said and stopped to watch. Gideon and Mabel, on the other hand, weren't as interested. They both managed to pull Dipper all the way to the door. "Hey-stop-HEY!" Dipper protested but wasn't strong enough to break free. Finally, they were able to pull him out through the diner doors.

"C'mon, I have to meet up with Pacifica soon. Besides, Wendy's a total jerk-you wouldn't like her. Heck, did you even know she would punch me right now 'cause I didn't call her Wyla?"

"No wonder I smelled perfume and anger issues..." he heard Mabel murmur.

Dipper jerked back like he was stung. "What? How could she be if her music's so good? And regular Wendy's awesome, with her beautiful hair and her coolness and..."

Mabel laughed. "Dipper, you barely heard the beggining of the song! I bet your heart's playin' tricks on you because you LOVE HE-" Dipper clamped a hand on her mouth, but he quickly lifted it before Mabel had a chance to lick it. Gideon watched with a raised eyebrow.

"C'mon, you lovey dovey little brother," Mabel said and shoved him playfully.

"Only by five minutes!" he said and shoved her back.

_Wonder what having a sibling is like... _He thought wistfully and glanced down at the bottle of soda.

_Huh. Wonder what happened to Dipper's stomach ache._

* * *

><p>When they finally reached the mansion, the two twins (ha ha, alliterations) collapsed onto neatly trimmed grass. Gideon pressed the buzzer inside a small metal box and sat down with the two, waiting. The twins looked around and took in their surroundings. There wasn't anything particularly flashy about it, except for that weird feeling Gideon always felt when he passed by McGuckett's junkyard. You never knew when the dogs might get you.<p>

Tall and unnaturally uniform hedges stood guard in front of a steel grey metal fence, leaving square patches of grass open to lay down on. The fence blocked the view of what was behind it. Gideon knew that the pointed spikes that ran along the top weren't entirely decorative as he watched the sun glint on the exceptionally sharp ends. He could hear energy humming through the fence, and once again he wondered what its purpose was since the fence didn't electrocute you. Possibly for the cameras.

"How... do you do this every day?" Dipper huffed.

"Usually... I have my bike with me, but I forgot it here since Grunkle Stan drove me home."

"Couldn't you have called for a limo so they can drive us here?"

"Yeah, but-" both of the twins glared at him "-but you two wanted a tour, so I gave you a tour," Gideon said and pressed the button again after getting up. After a few moments that felt like hours, the gates began to move quietly but slowly.

"Silent but deadly," Gideon heard Dipper murmur. "How'd they know we're here?"

"Security cameras."

The gates opened up to a huge courtyard, the mansion in the back. In the middle was an elegant marble water fountain with three levels, and there were peacocks roaming around everywhere.

"Woah! Real peacocks!" Mabel said as a peacock passed by her. She walked along with it, doing the same weird head bobbing too. "Oonts, oonts, oonts, oonts, bein' a peacock like a boss..." Gideon and Dipper let Mabel be her silly self and walked to the front door. Mabel followed, doing "The Peacock Dance."

When they reached the dark and huge wooden doors, Gideon rang the bell and waited again. He watched Dipper inspect Pacifica' s house, from the three-story mansion to the various limos, sports cars, and Buggies. All of the Buggies were Pacifica' s. (The older versions, of course.)

"Maybe we should ring again," Dipper suggested, but Gideon stopped him.

"They hate it when you-"

All three of them flinched at the ear splitting CRASH from within the house.

There was a split second of utter silence.

"MOM!" a girl shrieked behind the locked front doors.

* * *

><p>Yes. There's an explanation to Soos too. But I'll probably imply it later in the book... a lot later.<p>

~~Opal Uno

21-6 9-13-5 14-21-24-24.


	4. Bathroom Buttons

Dipper and Mabel looked at each other in shock. They crept back slowly, afraid some monster might burst through the door; he could swear a large shadow loomed in the window.

"Pacifica?! Are you all right?" Gideon said, his voice slightly panicky. He pressed his face against the door, most likely attempting to hear a response.

"Um, Gideon...?" Dipper said quietly, hoping he didn't arouse whatever was behind those doors. "I think we should-"

"Yeah, yeah!" some girl yelled within the house; Dipper wasn't sure if she was talking to him or Gideon. "Just dropped something!"

"Oh," Gideon said, "okay." He sighed and sank down against one of the dark wooden doors. He looked slightly confused as he opened the book he brought and started flipping through the pages.

"Uh..." Mabel simply said.

"Is this," Dipper said and gestured to everything that just happened. "Is this normal?"

Gideon didn't look up, but he sighed. "Yeah."

After a few moments of awkward silence, the door next to Gideon finally swung open. In the doorway stood a girl that looked exactly like Pacifica-except for the fact that she had zero makeup and her clothes were a mix of Mabel Style and designer stuff. A big blond ponytail was tied on the side of her head with a orange ribbon. She wore a shirt two sizes too big and dark blue Jean shorts, which were matched with army-like boots.

"'Ello, Gids'!" the girl said and nearly scooped Gideon off the ground in a hearty hug. Even from the bottom of the steps, Dipper could see Gideon blush.

"Hey...Pacifica," Gideon wheezed and Pacifica let go. She looked up, a huge grin on her face; her eyes moved around just enough that Dipper could tell she was searching them.

"So, you're friends with Gideon?" It was weird not hearing the snarky or sarcastic attitude Dipper was used to.

"Yeah," Mabel said and gasped. "Woah! Is that a Sev'ral Times shirt?! And your ponytail is so cool..." She ran up to Pacifica and started playing with the ponytail. "Heh heh, boing."

Pacifica stepped back a bit. "Ha, yeah. My Dad got it for me even though I couldn't see the concert with him."

"What?! Why couldn't you?"

Pacifica shrugged. "Oh, um, I don't know. Schoolwork," she said and started twirling one of her long bangs around her finger, eyes locked to the ground. Then she smiled again and readjusted her ponytail. "Anyways, wanna check out my room? I have more band stuff in there-plus a whole lotta of stuffed toys."

"Bet you don't have limited edition Mr. Rhino!"

Mabel disappeared behind the door with Pacifica. Gideon followed, reading the book and walking at the same time. Dipper was about to follow when something sparkled, catching his eye. On the ground near the mini palm trees lay a small, but gleaming, dazzling-red jewel. Dipper picked it up and stuffed it in his pocket, imagining Wyla's reaction when he gives it to her. Then he disappeared into the house as well, the door softly closing behind him.

He didn't realize the big mistake he just made.

* * *

><p>Dipper went down a hallway that opened up to a large area. In front of him stood a wooden staircase that gave off a beachy feel; there was a balcony and he could see the second story expand into a long hallway that went left to right. Behind the stairs there was a huge area shared by a kitchen and living room. And mounted on a wall, a huge flat screen T.V.<p>

Imagine playing video games on graphics, booming sound system...

But Dipper was brought back to reality by Mabel's voice.

"Where are you, bro? You gotta see this!"

"Yeah, coming!" Dipper yelled. He climbed up the stairs, slightly annoyed that Mabel ended his little daydream. He followed the sound of loud chatter to a room on the left of a hallway. While walking, he took notice of the indigo walls and the various paintings.

The bedroom was basically the stuff of Mabel's dreams: there were rainbows, sparkles, and glitter everywhere, and a sherbert orange bed with a mountain of stuffed animals and fluffy pillows. The walls were filled with posters of some girl band called The Sirens and puppies saying things like 'Be your best self!', 'Imagination rocks!', 'Love yourself!', 'Live the life you want to live!'. And peeking out from beneath the massive pile on the bed, Gideon was looking down at something in his hands.

"Your parents aren't here, right?" his voice was muffled from memory pillows, but Dipper could still detect wariness in it.

"Mm-hmm," was all Pacifica said before continuing her conversation with Mabel. Mabel hadn't noticed him yet.

"What's wrong with her parents?" Dipper asked curiously and sat down next to the pile. Whenever he saw them, the couple secretly creeped him out-always perfectly fake-yet-old looking-but he never suspected them to be anything more than just plastic. But then again, you can never over think anything in a place with a secret dark side...

"Nothing's, nothing's wrong with them," Gideon said and added loudly, "What I'm trying to say, is that, well, you two won't be able to meet them if they're not here."

"Oh," was all Dipper said, not wishing to elaborate. He would have to ask him later, away from the house. Gideon gingerly moved some of the stuffed animals away and looked around the room. There a look of slight concentration on his face.

Suddenly, someone grabbed him by the shoulders.

"HEY!" Dipper protested, his fear heightened after Gideon's weird behavior. Then he realized he was staring at Pacifica. A blush crept up to his face; Mabel was just introducing him.

"And here's my twin bro, Dipper!" Mabel said.

"Hi," Pacifica said and smiled politely.

Dipper removed himself from Mabel's grip. He was about to say something when the sound of a closing door interrupted him.

"Pacifica, daughter, where are you?" a man said downstairs.

"Coming, Dad!" Pacifica yelled. "Oh, and I brought some new friends over!" She gestured to everyone, and they followed her down the steps. At the bottom of the stairs stood a man with a stern face, but his expression instantly softened when he saw Pacifica and Mabel.

"Pacifica, please introduce me to your new acquaintances," he said, eyes lingering slightly on Dipper. Mr. Northwest craned his neck. "Is that Gideon I see? Come on out boy, it's a pleasure to see you again."

"Thanks," Gideon muttered and stepped out from behind Dipper. Dipper didn't even notice he was there before.

Pacifica snapped her fingers. "DAD!" she said. "I'd like you to meet Mabel."

Mabel waved energetically. "All the paintings look so real," she said. "I feel like I can walk into them-wait, I'll do it right now!"

Pacifica stopped her before and damage could of be done. "Ha ha, yeah. Anyways, this is Dipper."

Mr. Northwest nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said and turned to the left to walk away.

"Dad, where's Mom?"

Mr. Northwest grunted and adjusted his vest. "She's dealing with a persistent client after you dropped the china off the second floor. Why?"

"Well, um, I need to ask her a few questions." Pacifica twirled a strand of blond hair around a finger.

"Tell me."

"Can I, um...sleep over at Gideon's house?"

Mr. Northwest paused. "Sure," he replied and walked away.

"Whoop whoop!" Pacifica grinned and high fived Gideon, who smiled in return. "Dad never lets me sleep over at Gideon's," she explained. "It's always about 'nag nag nag that Stan is a no good menace yap yap yap.'"

Dipper danced around on his toes. "Pacifica wait-" he started, but she and Mabel were already running up the stairs. He looked frantically at Gideon. "Where's the bathroom?!"

Gideon gulped. "It's um, that way, then you go this way, and then you turn left after that," he said and pointed in random directions that made no sense to Dipper.

"Just show me," Dipper pleaded.

Gideon sighed and climbed down the stairs and walked to the hallway on the left. "Fine, I'll show you. I'm telling you, though, the place is like a maze. One time I nearly-"

"Just show me!" He ran ahead, still dancing on his toes.

Dipper followed Gideon. While running along, he began to notice that Gideon was right. Corridors frequently branched off from the main passageway, but the urge to use the John kept him from investigating further. After a couple of turns, they finally came up to a room marked "BATHROOM" on a metal sign. Dipper quickly closed the door and did his business.

Dipper washed his hands in the metal tub. Now that his mind was calm, he contemplated about he just saw. Where could all those hallways lead to? Why so many? He took out the scarlet jewel from his pocket and wrapped it in toilet paper so it wouldn't get scratched. He carefully put it away, amazed at his own luck. It seemed a little too good to be true...

_But, hey, it's a little gift for Wyla. How could I turn something like **that** down?_

"Are you almost done in there?" Gideon asked outside.

"Yeah," Dipper replied and dried his hands. He was about to turn off the light and open the door when he noticed a button. Unlike the other two switches, it was small and almost undetectable. Dipper pressed it out of sheer curiosity. Nothing happened, and Dipper's excitement quickly faded. He opened the door and found Gideon waiting impatiently. "So, what's so weird about Pacifica's parents?" he asked the burning question.

"They seem a little, uh..." Gideon's voice trailed off as the lights dimmed and faded in and out. Dipper looked up and saw the fluorescent light bulbs flicker, threatening to go completely out. There was no windows or other signs of the outside world; if the lights were to fail, they'd be lost in the dark.

"What the..." Dipper looked down one of the hallways he didn't see before. Instead of the walls being ocean blue, they were metal plating. He cast a confused look at Gideon. "Did you know about this?"

Gideon followed his gaze and shook his head, looking astonished as well. "No. I've never seen it before. Wonder what's down there."

Dipper could swear he saw a shadow on the far end, but Gideon pulled him inside the bathroom. "Quick, hide!" he whispered. Dipper looked back. The shadow came up the wall, the flickering lights disorientating it. There was a small click behind him and Gideon tugged on his arm again. Dipper closed the door and ducked into a hiding spot just as he heard the footsteps. They crouched in opposite corners as they stared at the door in shock. What just happened?

"Is that...?" Gideon whispered, but Dipper pit a finger up to his lips. The being outside was still outside, pacing and clicking what sounded like a pen rapidly. Dipper put his shirt up to his mouth to quiet his breathing. He looked around their hiding space and tried to calm his heart rate. Gideon, on the other hand, was basically hyperventilating.

"Calm down, dude," Dipper whispered to him. Gideon nodded and slowly his breathing went to normal. Dipper continued taking in his surroundings as water soaked into his shoes. The hiding spot was a mix between a shower stall and a metal closet; the steel grey metal walls were cold to the touch and slightly wet. The regular-looking shower head above them looked fairly old and unused, but the walls and floor were damp. Chills crept up into him, and Dipper shivered.

The metal door was open, but he didn't dare close it; blueish light came out from nowhere and he didn't want to shut it out. I must've mistook the shower to be a part of the wall, but then how did Gideon know? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gideon move. Gideon's nose twitched and he stretched his mouth open and close as if attempting to stop a sneeze. Dipper's eyes widened and he put his arm against his own nose, hoping Gideon would copy.

Gideon glanced at him. He covered his nose just at the right moment. All Dipper heard was a muffled little squeak, but the footsteps stopped dead in their tracks. Silence.

The door knob jangled.

Dipper held his breath and inched in closer to the corner and door.

Light slowly peeped through the door into the shower stall, getting closer and closer to their toes...

But then door closed with a sudden slam. Dipper and Gideon couldn't help it; they sighed with relief. Listening intently, they heard the footsteps walk farther and farther away until disappearing. The two boys waited a few minutes until they were certain they were in the clear. Dipper carefully stepped outside the shower, and his shoes made wet squishy sounds with each step. Gideon got out with him and slowly turned the knob. He peeked his head out through the crack he made and gave Dipper a thumbs up.

They crept out.

The fluorescent lights no longer flickered or dimmed as each boy cautiously placed each step. Dipper looked down the same hallway where he saw Mr. Northwest's shadow, but the lights were off.

"DIPPER?!" Mabel whispered right next to him. Dipper jumped.

"Mabel? How did you..." his voice trailed off when he didn't see her. "Mabel?" He looked at Gideon. "Did you hear it too?" Gideon nodded.

"GIDEON?!" Pacifica whispered clearly, again sounding like she was right next to them. Gideon's eyes searched around the hallway.

"Pacifica?" he said.

"Where...are...you...guys?" Mabel whispered. Now that he was paying more attention, Dipper could hear her more clearly from a corridor to his left. He motioned to Gideon and glanced around the corner before going down the hallway.

The girl's whispers, which were really starting to creep him out now, steadily grew louder. Dipper and Gideon followed the sounds and decided to go down the path where they could hear the girls the loudest. They reached a three way crossroad, and Dipper was unable to tell which way they should go. Something told him to go straight. He motioned for Gideon to follow, but he pointed to the hallway that went left. That hallway was ocean blue instead of metal.

But then the walls started moving, and the way out began to close.

"GO GO GO!" Gideon yelled and lay against the ground, already on the other side. The wall was closing in alarmingly fast. Dipper ran and dived; the metal floor burnt his stomach and he clamped his eyes shut. When he stopped, fear flashed through him; just a little bit farther-!

"BAM!"

* * *

><p>~~Opal Uno<p>

15-1-25-25-17-26-6 "2-21-17" 21-18 11-1-7 19-1-6 6-20-21-5

25-17-5-5-13-19-17


	5. THAT Baby Blue Book

When the pain didn't come, Dipper opened his eyes and found Gideon staring down at him. He attempted to get up, but something tugged tightly on his foot. He looked back; a shoe lace was stuck. Dipper turned around, and together him and Gideon attempted to pull the lace out. The attempt failed.

"I can cut it with my army knife," Gideon suggested and took it out of his pocket. Dipper nodded and got up once he was done. He looked up at the wall, which was blue just like the rest of the hallway. "So that's how I've never seen those paths before. The blend in with the rest. Interesting," Gideon mused. "Do you think he'll notice?"

Dipper looked at the tiny little stub that stuck out. "No," he said and brushed off the thick layer of dust that had accumulated on his shirt and shorts. "Does Pacifica know?"

Gideon shook his head, clearly shocked. "Gosh, no! Just imagine how'll she react." He looked away, as if thinking of something.

"What?"

"How _will_ she react?"

"Good question." Dipper cupped his hand around an ear; he could barely hear Mabel and Pacifica. Mysteriously, the whispers ceased and were replaced by far away shouts. "There has to be some logical explanation," Dipper muttered while carefully looking around. Dust, dust, dust caked the walls and paintings, but in the lack of bright light it was nearly impossible to discover anything else unusual.

"So, that means no one's been here in a while. Weird..." he said to himself.

"What?" Gideon asked.

"I said no one has been here in a while, so there's dust everywhere," Dipper repeated before realizing the girls' calls stopped. "Do you know the way out?" he asked suspiciously, recalling how Gideon pulled him into the metal shower.

"Um, actually, yeah," Gideon replied and played with his watch. "I tend to get lost frequently here, and I guess I remembered the way."

Dipper smiled. "You're a genius."

Gideon shrugged modestly, blushing a little. "Thanks."

Maybe Gideon wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

><p>Mabel and Pacifica were sitting on the stairs, comparing nails. Mabel was wearing a purple backpack, and with her orange unicorn sweater, it looked familiar for some reason. Maybe if you were to add eyeballs to the backpack and a talking map...<p>

Pacifica looked up. "Hey, where've you guys been?" she said. "Mabel and I have been waiting for you. We were yelling and yelling and-"

Dipper pointed down the hallway. "Pacifica, there's these secret tunnels and moving walls down there-your da-"

Pacifica held up a hand to stop him. "Nope nope nope, that's just the way to my parent's room."

Dipper's mind raced and the gears started turning. "Your parents' room? Then maybe-"

"Dude, Dipper. My house is just a normal house, 'kay?"

He looked at Gideon for reassurance, but Gideon awkwardly averted his gaze while toying with his watch.

Pacifica suddenly jumped up. "C'mon, let's go before Dad changes his-"

"Are you all still here?" someone said. Dipper looked up to the second floor. It was Mr. Northwest.

The boys stepped back subconsciously.

"Actually, Dad, we were just about to leave-"

"Nonsense. Alfred is out doing business, so I might as well drive all of you there."

"But Da-"

"Either I drive or you don't go at all."

Pacifca sighed dramatically. "Fine."

The limo's interior was just as fancy as Dipper imagined it would be. Mr. Northwest sat in the driver's area, which was almost like another room.

Almost.

Dipper, Mabel, Gideon, and Pacifica all sat in the space behind the driver area, which had two rows of black plush seats that faced each other. They all sat on the row farthest from Mr. Northwest, even though it was a little too right for comfort.

Dipper noticed the lack of seat belts as the limo started up and paused at the gates. Gideon, who was on his right, leaned into where the seats and door met. He held a baby blue book up to his face, and for the first time Dipper could see neon sticky notes and tabs peeking out from the pages. Intrigued, he leaned in slightly, but Gideon shifted his hand and covered the title.

"So... Who's Alfred?" Dipper asked and leaned back, wondering if there was some other side to him as well.

"Oh, he's just our butler," Pacifica answered.

He smiled to himself.

"What?"

"Nothing," he replied and thought about what Pacifica said earlier: 'that's just the way to my parents' room.'

Was it just coincidental? Or maybe they planned it that way for ease of access? Why did they have the secret passages built? And how the heck did Gideon know about the shower-closet-who-knows-what?

But he kept his mouth shut in the presence of Mr. Northwest, who gripped the wheel tightly.

* * *

><p>Mr. Northwest dropped them off without another word. Dipper watched the limo speed away and send up large dust clouds, and they coughed harshly.<p>

"Well, what are you guys waiting for? It's sleep over time!" Mabel and Pacifca squealed before running to the shack.

"Pacifica, wait-!" Dipper said and coughed. He caught up to them. "Pacifica, I'm not kidding about the whole secret passage thing-"

"Nope nope nope," Pacifca said as they passed by the empty living room.

"You and Gideon have been on adventures, right? Then you should know by now that Reverse Falls is not what it seems-even your own family might have secrets and-"

Pacifica turned to him and looked at him as if her were crazy. "My family does not have secrets. We're perfect," she said firmly.

"But-"

Mabel tugged on his arm. "Dipper, now's not the time to be all conspiracy mode," she said quietly and pointed to Pacifca, who shrugged as if to say, I told you so. "If there's no coo-coo mazes, then there isn't."

For a split second Dipper stopped midway in the bedroom thresh hold.

Mabel? Defend Pacifica?

Suddenly something didn't feel right. In what kind of world would Mabel defend Pacifca? Dipper wondered as his body began to ache.

Pacfica snapped her fingers. "Dude, can you move outta the way so I can close the door? I need to set up all the makeup stuff." Dipper nodded and stepped out of the way. For a split second, Pacifica's face was as stern as her father's, but then the door closed with a sudden whoosh. It happened so fast that he wasn't sure if he was just seeing things. He sat down on the seats by the window, next to Mabel.

"Mabel, do you believe me?" he asked.

"About what, Dipwad?" she replied, swinging her legs around.

"About, you know, the whole passage thing?"

Mabel shoved him playfully. "Of course I do, bro! You guys were gone for A BAJILLION HOURS!"

Dipper blinked. "We were?" Then he realized Mabel was just exaggerating. "Then why'd you fend for Pacifca?"

"'Cause, well," Mabel lowered her voice. "Didn't you realize how sensitive she was about that stuff? Sometimes you can be all-" Mabel mimed an explosion "-poof when it comes to other people's emotions, you know. Like that day I won Waddles."

"Oh," Dipper looked away, suddenly feeling like a jerk as he heard the door open. "Wait, how do you-"

"We need to talk." Dipper looked up. Pacifca was staring at him and Mabel, a look of slight unease and seriousness on her face. The twins exchanged confused looks.

"Huh?" they both said at the same time.

Pacifca was sitting up on the bed, staring down at him and Mabel. Dipper suddenly remembered reading that appearing higher up during an interrogation pressured the other person. Pacifca worked her mouth out, as if trying to figure out where to begin. Gideon sat next to her, looking uncomfortable while drumming his fingers on the book in his lap.

Dipper cleared his throat. "Um-"

"I ask the questions," Pacifica ordered and made a vain attempt to glare at him. The attempt failed, and she sighed and lay back on the bed but continued to look at them. Specifically Dipper. "So, um... Tell me. How you got here."

Dipper paused. "Well, our parents shipped us up here for the summer for some fresh air, and now we're living with our Grunkle Stan."

Pacifica sat up again, frowning in confusion. "That's just the same as Gids'," she muttered under her breath. "No, tell me how you really got here."

"That's how we got here," he replied firmly. Now that he thought about it, how much did they really know about Pacifica?

"I know you're lying, you derp-de-derp. See-what's that?" She pointed to something next to him. Dipper followed her finger and quickly snatched up his ratty blue hat off the mattress. "You didn't think that I would notice how you and Gids' have the same outfit? Plus, you guys look so familiar for some reason," she said and began snapping her fingers. She didn't sound offended or angry, but more like she was on the brink of something.

"Pacifica, I'm not lying!"

"Yeah!" Mabel joined in. "We're just normal people and it's not like we're from another dimension or anything..."

Pacifica's eyes widened. "Wait, you guys are? That's so cool! What's it like in there? What am I like? Am I rich and awesome or am I a hobo-bo?"

Dipper glared at Mabel.

"Uh," Mabel said, carefully choosing her words. "You're still rich. Me and Dip' are the Mystery Twins, and Gideon's this..._person_...who does a lot of stuff with magic."

Gideon raised an eyebrow. "Magic?" he echoed.

"Yeah, magic," Dipper said before Mabel could blurt 'and you're an evil creep with anger issues and sends me creepy love letters.' He cleared his throat. "So, what about you, Pacifica? It seems only fair that you tell us about yourself as well, you know."

"Yeah!" Mabel joined in and added quietly, "You might as well tell us about your secret stash of Smile Dip..."

"What? No," Dipper said and turned his attention back to Pacifica. She leaned back and blew a strand of hair away from her face.

"I'm just a regular ole person, ya know " she said and burped before quickly covered her mouth. "'Scuse me." But she continued to stare at them without another word.

Gideon sighed after a few moments of silence. "Fine-I'll tell you," he said and held up the powder blue book he brought along, revealing a yellow sticky note where the title should've been.

Dipper and Mabel leaned forward. "JXWBP XKA PBZOBQP QR BKGLV," they recited. The letters were written in bold black letters, and next to it was a table flip emoji: (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻.

"Did you crack the code yet? Where'd you find the book?" Dipper asked, curious about how you find a book like that.

Gideon shook his head and showed them another page. "Now, this page is really weird-just watch."

Dipper and Mabel leaned forward and squinted at the two blank pieces of paper. At first, nothing happened.

"Um," Mabel said. "What's-"

"Just watch."

Suddenly, light blue lights appeared on the page, similar to how a splatter of dots could be interpreted as a dog drinking water. Mabel gasped. The once-invisible lines appeared to originate from one thick horizontal line that went across both pages. The thinner lines connected, but never curved and only formed right angles.

"And this is supposed to mean what?" Dipper asked, trying to work out the answer in his head. "Is this another blueprint like the one in the Journal?"

"Can't you tell? It's a map to the maze."

Dipper stared at the diagram again. The lines were spaced out enough that he could imagine walls in between. There were even a couple of squares without lines in them, most likely rooms. One was huge-the bedroom-and another one was quite smaller-the bathroom. But the odd thing was that the two rooms were spaced far apart.

He eyed Pacifica carefully. "So there are secret passages."

She sighed and slouched forward. "No, there aren't any tunnels," she retorted sarcastically, but didn't stare directly at him; she even looked a little uncomfortable. I guess she is sensitive about it, he observed guiltily.

Dipper paused. "Then what was the point of lying?"

"'Cause Mom would _freak_! Duh!" She grinned and threw a pillow at his head. Her smile faded a second later as she played with her hair. "She doesn't..." Pacifica sighed again. "The tunnels were already built when we moved in."

"Who built them?" Dipper asked, despite Mabel's elbow and quiet warning.

"Um..."

"No one knows," Gideon replied for her. "As in, there's no records or anything, except that Nathaniel Northwest owned the mansion before abandoning it."

"Yep," Pacifica said quietly and shrugged, eyes locked to the ground. Dipper knew well enough not to dig any deeper.

Gideon cleared his throat. "Besides, that's not the only thing I found on just that page," he said triumphantly and pulled out a black cylinder with a frayed string attached to it. "I-"

"DERP!" Pacifica shouted and smacked Gideon with a pillow. The black light flew out of his hand and shattered on the wall above the bed.

"PACIFICA!" Gideon shrieked and glared at her, face scrunched up in fury. His face was pink.

Pacifica grinned, now that she had an audience. "PILLOW FIGHT!" Suddenly, Mabel smacked him right on the back.

"Agh! Mabel, stop!" Dipper ordered, but felt another blow to the back. He grabbed another pillow to shield himself.

"GUYS! THIS IS MY ROOM! GET OUT AND LEAVE US IN PEACE!" Gideon commanded over the commotion as he and Dipper were backed up onto the door.

"Too bad!" Pacifica said with a grin. Dipper ducked from a yellow pillow case and desperately turned the knob; the boys fled from the scene and closed the door. Dipper rolled his eyes.

"Girls."

Gideon rolled his eyes as well. "Tell me about it," he huffed. "Bros before gals." They fist bumped and got up. Gideon brushed himself off.

"So, what we're you going to show us before?"

"Hmpf. I need to got get another black light from Duece first."

* * *

><p>They found Duece outside, working on the penny machine at the entrance to the "museum". He gladly gave Gideon another black light, pulling out the brand new object straight out of one of the pockets in his cargo shorts. They went back inside the living room and Gideon opened the book on the little table. He turned the on the light, and on the page glowed a rather large message:<p>

JLOQETBPQ FP KLQ F,

QEB PFU CFKDBOBA PEXALT.

PQXK INC XKA PQXJCLOA, QELPB IFQQIB PIFBP,

QEB YOLQEBOP PEXII NRXOOBI.

QEB ABJKL FP YXZH,

IFQQI MFKB QOBB XKA ZLBJQ,

TEBOB AL VLR _QORIV_ YBILKD?

CFDROB FQ LRQ, LO VLR TLK'Q IXPQ ILKD.

QXHB EBBA, VLRKD PLRIP.

"Woah. I've never seen a code this long before. Did you crack this one yet?" Dipper asked.

Gideon shook his head. "Actually, I just found out today. Remember that bluish light in the bathroom?"

"Yeah."

"That was black light, and it showed some random ink swirls on the cover. And if there's some on the cover, why not inside?" He pointed to a small glowing space next to the bathroom. "That's probably the shower."

"Then that means The Author could've lived in the mansion before! Think about it; all the codes, secrecy, invisible ink, it makes sense!"

"Wait, so you're saying Nathaniel Northwest could be the author?" His eyes were as wide as saucers, making him look mildly adorable.

"No, that's impossible. Nathaniel lived hundreds of years ago, and The Author only vanished thirty years ago."

Gideon frowned, clearly disappointed. "Oh. But still, I've never thought about The Author's-" Suddenly, Dipper heard a weird zapping noise. "Hey do you-"

Then black light flickered and popped.

"AH!" both boys cried and jerked back; the chairs fell onto the floor with a loud clatter. Dipper rubbed his face as the weird smell of busted light bulbs filled the room. He opened his eyes and saw Gideon on the floor, rubbing his face as well. Gideon grabbed the broken black light and threw it into the trash can angrily.

"Stupid black light," he muttered.

"Are you all right?" Dipper asked and got up.

"Yeah," Gideon muttered grumpily.

Dipper looked around cautiously. "I wonder if someone's trying to sabotage us or something. That was a new light, after all."

"I doubt it," Gideon said and brushed himself off. "Sometimes the stuff Duece gives me break. Probably cracked in his pocket."

"Oh." He helped Gideon up and set the chairs back up. He hesitated from saying something, an odd chill creeping up his spine.

_**'The worst is yet to come...'**_

Dipper blinked, and the message was forgotten.

* * *

><p>Please don't get mad at me for that Dora reference or the Batman reference. ;-; I couldn't help it. And what are your guys' reaction to the blue book revelation? Just curious.<p>

~~Opal Uno

18 21-5 13 1-4 21 4-17-15-13-7-5-17 21-6 15-13-26 13-24-1-26-17


	6. Back at the Shack

_But which one?_

Mysterious Mr. Pines was searching the bookcase next to the Employees Only door. He grabbed random novels and stacked them on an empty shelf, but the wall had nothing for him. He began putting the books back, looking inside just in case he could find it. Red book, blue book, one book, two books, but no _The_ Book.

_AHAHAHAHA!_ the obnoxious memory taunted in his head again. _You have no idea what's coming, do you? Do you!? **GLASSES, I'M TALKING TO YOU; DON'T YOU DARE SHU-!**_

The monstrosity's voice was muffled when Stan was distracted by the sound of something falling. He watched papers spill out of a pink binder in a huge mess. Silently, he quickly squatted and began piling the drawings, notes, and polaroids together. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't fast enough; Soos, who was standing across the room, walked over with a broom in hand.

"Need help, Mr. Pines?" Soos asked and crouched before the mess. He began organizing, mentally taking note of what he saw. Yellowing newspaper clippings, notes scrawled onto old lined paper, and polaroids of random squiggles and people didn't recognize-each one was snatched up by Mr. Pines before Soos could look closer. The image of a young man in his 20's with a big round nose and straw hat stared back at Soos until Mr. Pines grabbed that one, too.

It was the only thing that didn't appear too ominous. For some reason, it even felt familiar to him.

Soos looked up. Mr. Pines was stuffing the papers inside the binder. On the inside front cover, a lavender sticker was taped. An adorable grey kitten stared back at Soos, and written around were the words _'You're the best Gru-'_

Mr. Pines suddenly closed the binder, face solemn and eyes clutched shut. A second later, he was up and searching the bookcase again, as if nothing happened.

"I didn't know you had all that cool stuff, Mr. Pines," Soos said and got up. Mr. Pine's hand froze, hovering over a burgundy dictionary.

"It's a friend's," he replied gruffly and spun around. An accusing finger was aimed at Soos. "Tell no one, you got that?"

Soos stood stick straight. "Aye aye, Mr. Pines!" He stared at the wall ahead and saluted.

Mr. Pines merely grunted in response. He pushed the Employees Only door, grumbling.

Suddenly, the gift shack for burst open. Two giggling girls stumbled through and quickly shut it close with their butts.

"Sup, dudes. Whatcha' doin'?" Soos asked cheerfully. He put the broom away and walked over to Mabel and Pacifica, as if nothing happened just a mere seconds ago. Both girls clutched a tattered maroon book to their chests while laughing. Pacifica looked up to him.

"Oh." She frowned in confusion before a grin quickly swept over her face. She elbowed Mabel playfully. "Mabel and I're just playing a little game with Dip' 'n' Gids'! WE STOLE THEIR JOURNALS!"

"MABEL!" Dipper yelled behind the door. "MABEL, OPEN THE DOOR!"

"PACIFICAAA!" Gideon shouted, sounding a little whiny. Fists pounded on the door. "STOPP!"

She ignored them and high-fived Mabel instead.

"Uh, shouldn't you girl dudes give it back to them...?" Soos asked nervously. "'Cause, like, don't they need it for their mystery stuff?"

"SOOS! OPEN THE DOOR, SOOS!" Dipper and Gideon begged at the same time. Fists rained down on the door again. Soos glanced nervously at Mabel and Pacifica, who taunted at the trapped boys.

"Um, dudes, they sound pretty mad..."

"Nah," Pacifca said breezily. "Gideon has a hard time saying no to me. And staying mad, too."

* * *

><p>"MABEL! C'MON, OPEN THE DOOR!" Dipper pleaded.<p>

"Ugh, it's no use," Gideon said, then whispered, "Let's go through the other way before they lock that one, too. Bet Pacifica's distracted by Due-I mean Soos."

They rounded a corner and ran straight into something. Gideon felt himself knocked to the floor.

"Ow..." he muttered and rubbed his head. His fingers buzzed for some reason, but it quickly faded away. He looked up and saw a girl on the ground, dazed. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

He quickly helped her up and gasped.

_Woah. She's** preee-ty.**_

The girl had long and wavy chocolate brown hair with a blue highlight in it. She looked up at him, cheeks blushing, and he instantly noticed her eyes. They were a bright turquoise and seemed to glow in the summer sunlight. She smiled and laughed.

"Why, such a gentleman!" she praised. Her voice had a sweet Southern drawl to it, like ice cold lemonade on a scorching hot day.

Gideon blushed, butterflies fluttering in his stomach. "Oh, um, thanks. Yep, that's me! Such a gentleman!" he said nervously, embarrassed for some reason.

_Why am I acting like this? I like...someone else..._

_Or do I?_

The angel giggled and played shyly with her headband, which had a captivating turquoise jewel on it.

"How 'bout this, peach dumplin'? Meet me at my place, and we'll talk later, chow!" she said and winked at him. She skipped away, some other girl speed-walking at her side.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dipper roll his eyes; instantly, his guard was up and he glared at the kid.

"What?" he said defensively. Suddenly, he knew that he had to punch the twerp in the face.

Gideon felt his hand ball up into fists.

"Woah, hey! Gideon, calm down!" Dipper said and stepped back while frowning at Gideon's fists in confusion.

Something snapped inside.

Gideon blinked and hesitated, realizing what he was just about to do.

"Oh, um, sorry..." he muttered and tried to relax his shoulders. _Control your rage!_

Dipper was silent for a moment. He searched Gideon's face, to the forest trail where the beautiful girl disappeared into, and back to Gideon's fists.

"Mabel didn't... Do anything to you, right?" he questioned carefully.

"'Mabel'? That wasn't Mabel," Gideon replied with a small frown.

"Mirrored Mabel. Mabel Gleeful, child physic. Although, I wonder who that other girl was. Have you heard of the Gleefuls?"

"Um, no... But if she's the opposite of Mabel, does that mean she's mean?"

"Probably is."

Gideon stared into the forest disbelievingly.

_But she seemed so nice..._

_No, wait. She **is** nice._

"Promise me you won't go on the date."

Gideon snapped out of his trance and blinked. He felt himself blush. "'Date'? What date?"

"Gideon, I've been through this before. Trust me, you do not want to be suspended midair with lamb shears poised at your throat."

"Um... Okay. I promise not to," he lied.

* * *

><p>In the forest, <em>The<em> Magnificent Mabel Gleeful tilted her head to the side as she watched the two boys standing outside the shack.

_Hmm. I should probably tell Mr. Buck about the clone, but... Shopping sounds better._ She shrugged. _Eh, I'll do so later. Olvy **finally** brought her charm, after all._

She moved her hand away from her head band and walked away from the scene, smiling to herself.

* * *

><p>"So, what do you think?" Gideon asked. "You know, 'bout the code in the book?"<p>

After a day of cleaning up the grounds and people's wallets, he and Dipper were finally able to discuss mysteries again.

"It's hard to say right now," Dipper answered with a frown. "You're sure Duece ran out of black lights? The code seemed really long and important."

"Wish he did. But still, what do you think about that maze mystery? I always knew there was something 'bout Northwest, but this..." He mimed an explosion around his head. "This is different. He obviously has somethin' to do with it."

"But what? Oh, and that reminds me." Dipper reached into his pocket. Carefully unwrapping the toilet paper, he showed Gideon the red jewel. "I found _this_ there."

Gideon raised an eyebrow and racked through his memories for a moment. Skipping over a hazy patch of blurry thoughts and images, he said, "Think I read somethin' 'bout it here."

He took out his Journal and flipped through the pages, but to no avail. Frantically, he searched again. "What!? I swear, it was here!"

"Dude, it's okay," Dipper said, but Gideon could still hear the disappointment. "Wait, is there something in your other book as well?"

Gideon took out his baby blue novel and started to search it as well. After a few moments, he found a wrinkled folded piece of paper hidden within one of the pages. Quickly, he closed the book up before Dipper could see what was typed on the pages and said, "Yeah. Says something 'bout..." He squinted, trying to read the messy handwriting.

Someone was in a hurry, he thought with a pang of annoyance.

"...It 'enhances the user's manipulation of other-world-like-forces,'" he recited.

"So, basically, magic," Dipper summed up with a shrug.

"Yeah. And apparently this guy likes to use big words for no apparent reason," Gideon grumbled with a huff. All the fancy vocabulary and unnecessary words would always make it harder for him and Pacifica to figure out whatever they were reading.

"Ha, I know, right! I have a feeling this guy, the writer of this book, isn't The Author," Dipper said. "He sounds different, more like... Hmm... More like-"

"KIDS! COME QUICK!" Grunkle Stan yelled downstairs. "I NEED YOU TO LAUGH AT THIS WITH ME!"

"OKAY!" Gideon yelled back. He turned back to Dipper and pointed to the gem. "Mind if I borrow this later so I can write down info about it in my Journal."

Dipper face-palmed. "Why didn't I think of that? Sure."

* * *

><p>Dipper awoke to the blackness of night and sat up; the only source of light was the moonlight streaming from the open triangle shaped window. He shivered as the stuffy began to cool down.<p>

_Funny..._ he thought, his mind still blurry from sleep. _I don't remember anyone opening it. And if the room is just starting to cool down..._

His muddled thoughts were interrupted by muttering. As his eyes adjusted to the low light, he looked around the slightly cramped room. Mabel, closest to the wall, was sharing a mattress Grunkle Stan had brought up. She was sleeping peacefully. Pacifica was sleeping on a heap of blankets and sleeping bags on the floor. She was snoring like a troll, but other than that she looked fine. Dipper glanced across the room to Gideon...

Who definitely did not look fine and dandy.

"Mmf..." Gideon muttered dreamily before whimpering, "No... Stop... Never-! Wait, a deal...?" He paused, as if he were actually thinking. _But he can't be thinking, he's sleeping,_ Dipper thought in disbelief. "Sure..."

Gideon yawned and turned to the side, his scowl facing Dipper. The metalic six fingered hand of Journal Three glinted back at him.

"You... Hooded hoo'lums..." Gideon muttered and yawned again. His face relaxed.

Dipper lay back on his bed, convinced that Gideon was only experiencing a normal nightmare. His mind flashed back to earlier that day, just before Gideon was about to punch him. He shivered.

_Imagine how he'll react if I startle him._

With a sigh, he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep again. A few moments of silence, and he couldn't. It's a good thing he didn't.

_"Rorrim, rorrim..."_ someone whispered. Dipper ignored the odd murmur; he didn't understand the foreign words anyway.

_"Bak meht d'nes..." _

Barely recognizing it as Gideon's voice, Dipper curiously opened one eye to see what he was doing. Gideon was laying on his back now, his hands hidden underneath the Journal's worn pages.

_"Bak meht d'nes.."_ Gideon repeated, his voice raised to a mutter. Dipper sat up and watched suspicously, wondering if he should intervene and risk a black eye.

_"D'nal rehto eht ot..."_ His voice was raised a little more. His nose twitched.

_Wait, is it just me, or are his eyes slightly glowing blue? _

With a start, Dipper realized that the were steadily glowing more and more intensely . Alarmed, he jumped up and hopped over Pacifica's pile of sleeping bags, barely scaling her head.

_"D'nal re-"_

THUMP.

He slipped on a stray blanket cover. A buzzing feeling pricked his fingers as the world swirled upside down.

_"-eht o-"_

Dipper managed to get up and shake Gideon just before it was too late.

"Gideon, wake up!" he urged.

Instantly, Gideon's eyes fluttered open and the glow dispersed. His pupils flashed turquoise for a split second before returning to normal-it happened so fast that Dipper wasn't sure if his mind was playing tricks on him.

"What-huh-who?" Gideon stuttered and looked around. He pushed Dipper's hands away and frowned. "Dipper? What're-"

"Guys?" Pacifica asked. Dipper glanced back. She was frowning in concern.

"I, uh..." Gideon trailed off while blinking rapidly.

Dipper gave him a weird look. "Gideon, do you realize what you were just doing!?" he whisper-shouted.

"Um... No...?" Gideon sat up against the wall. Dipper noticed that he was gripping the gem tightly.

"Wait a minute." He pointed to the jewel. It glinted wickedly in the silver moonlight. _And to think, I was gonna give this to Wyla!_ "Didn't your book-"

"Oh no," Pacifica interrupted and got up. "Gideon, you're not having those nightmares again, right?" Gideon shifted uneasily under the pressure of the girl.

"What do you mean by 'again'?" Dipper said and frowned at Pacifica.

She ignored him and asked softly, "Gideon?"

"Yeah..." Gideon mutttered darkly. His head dipped down in what seemed like shame, and his grip on the gem tightened considerably.

Dipper watched curiously as Pacifica gently pulled the Journal away from Gideon and place it on the bed. She started to slowly move Gideon's fingers away from the blood red jewel.

Suddenly, he snapped to attention and yelped. Pacfica jerked back into Dipper, who quickly caught her on reflex. They blushed at each other before she quickly got up and turned back to Gideon.

"-sorry sorry sorry!" Gideon was stuttering, staring wide eyed at the jewel. Almost as if he were talking to it. "Sor-!"

"Gideon! Gids', it's all right," Pacfica assured him. She held the jewel up and threw it out the open window. "There, proble-"

"PACIFICA! WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR!" Gideon and Dipper yelled at the same time. They glanced at each other before gawking at Pacfica.

"Sorry! Impulse!" Pacifica explained quickly at the two boys, hands held up in surrender. She pouted a little and sarcastically muttered something that sounded a lot like, "Yeah, _sure_, you two really want an evil jewel that steals power from nightmares."

Dipper frowned. "What was that?" he asked.

"What was what?"

"You said something about 'nightmares' and-"

"I was asking Gids' what the hey hey just happened!" she protested, sounding a little annoyed as she twirled a strand of hair nervously. She glared a Dipper, hesitated, and sighed. "Sorry..."

"I-"

"It's okay," Gideon said and shot a warning glance at Dipper. "I'm fine."

"No you're not," Dipper stated plainly, mentally dismissing the threatening look from Gideon. "Dude, what the heck was that!? Your eyes were glowing and-" he gestured to the air, mind racing as he tried to find the words and a rational explanation.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it, 'kay?" Gideon stated and lay back.

Dipper didn't say anything, just watched as Pacifica bit her lip, looking a little hurt. "Oh, um, okay..." she mumbled and slowly got back to her cozy pile of blankets and pillows. He turned back to Gideon, who's eyebrow was raised.

He was giving Dipper a look that said, _'aren't you gonna go away now?' _

"Gideon, c'mon, please?" Dipper held up a fist. "Bros before gals?"

Gideon searched his face for a moment and sighed, guilt tinging at the edges of his frown.

"I'll tell you in the morning, got that?" he promised. Then, without waiting for a response, he closed his eyes and turned to the side. Dipper frowned awkwardly; Gideon had hand left his hand hanging. He sighed.

"'Night, Mabel," he mumbled as he climbed into bed next to her._ I wonder why she didn't... Yawn... Wake up._

He lay there, staring at the ceiling, still trying to come up with a plausible explanation; it was, after all, a part of his nature...

"Waddles... Waddles..." Mabel muttered sadly.

Dipper yawned as his eyelids suddenly grew heavy. "'Waddles'...? Who waddles..." he murmured dreamily as his vision blurred. Immediately, he fell asleep.

...But, unknown to him, things were going to change drastically.

Starting the very next day.

* * *

><p>[AN]

**Note: Updates might come by slower now. I apologize!**

**Very important question. Please please please answer!: For the next chapter, should it be in Dipper's, Mabel's, Gideon's or maybe even in Pacifica's point of view?**

Anywho, how do you guys like this chapter? Things got a little more creepy, huh? And a cliffhanger, too! :3

Question: What do you think will happen next? If at least 3 people answer by the time I start to type up the next chapter, I'll give you guys a hint on how to solve the code in the baby blue book. :D

~~Opal Uno

(Will add later. Sorry!)


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